Epsilon Twilight

93. Past

It all started more than half a century ago, back in the reign of my mother, the sultanah Kira-al-Ydaz. Not many people remember it after decades of peace, but this country used to be quite bellige...

92. Karaim

No rebuttal left Aloe’s mouth; she accepted her destiny in silence. She took a minute to fix her clothes and then followed the foreign maid into the inner palace. The sky was already tainted with...

91. Deal

It was impossible to not be intimidated by Aaliyah-al-Ydaz, her whole existence exuded a royal aura. The Sultanah and her daughter locked gazes as Aloe knelt, not daring to look.

“I already...

90. Sultanah

As the knocks awakened Aloe, her mind still wandered to the memories of that gazebo. It had been barely a few hours ago, and her mind would not let it pass.

“Yes?” Aloe groaned, trying to...

89. Debauchery

Her presence wasn’t felt across the gazebo, the garden structure was big enough to support twice as many people inside. Aloe sat close to the maid – who was standing up – yet opposite to the ...

88. Quicksand

“Hmm, quite a simple abode for Rani’s first companion.” The unknown woman waltzed into Aloe’s room with a confidence that made quite obvious her status. “What is your name, girl?”

87. Palace

The scribe’s eyes keep darting from place to place, trying to devour everything in her line of sight. The capital was expansive, and she wouldn’t have enough time to even get out of the palace,...

86. Asina

“...up... Wake up...” A melodious voice broke through the nothingness. A soft caress on a frigid winter night, a candlelight on a moonless night. Night was the common denominator. “Wake up......

85. Sleep

To say that she was uncomfortable with Rani’s decision, was an understatement. Right now, outside of the encampment site, only she and a soldier remained outside. It was this man’s turn to keep...

84. Road

The promised date soon arrived. Though dreadful would fit the description better.

Aloe had done her best to ready the palace for her absence, and Rani’s. She personally discussed with Fayru...

83. Blush

It wasn’t hard to continue with her duties the next day as she had arrived at Sadina quite early. Aloe had enough time to take the promised long bath and undo the layers of grime, dirt, and sand ...

82. External

Whether she wanted or not, her time in the oasis quickly ran out. There wasn’t much she could do, and even if there was, a day was not enough. The rest of her time was spent on trying different c...

Cultivating Plants Bulk Art #2

It was time to publish it, now that all plants have been revealed.

Minor spoilers for the grown version of Nature's Bounty and Chlorotrophy, I guess?

Art done by @kissfortheelves on X (...

81. Aphrodisiac

Aloe caressed her neck as she juggled the waterskin with the other hand. “Ugh, I got used to the bed in the palace... My body is killing me after sleeping in that wooden slate Karaim had for a be...

80. Night

After having a simple lunch consisting of the leftovers of her previous lunch – because why cook for three days when you had imperial-level cooking that only needed to be reheated – and drinkin...

79. Addled

“Hmm~” Aloe bit her lip with all the strength she could muster. “This... itches... are...” She panted; words stopped coming from her mouth as she was out of air. “I...”

At some po...

78. Itch

A lot of ideas and half-baked plans had been concocted in Aloe’s brain, but she left them on the back burner for now. These weren’t things she could apply in a single day, maybe not even a year...

77. Healing

After having washed her hands on the oasis, Aloe returned to the greenhouse, her body tumbling in a mixture of giddiness and worry.

“Please don’t catch fire. Please don’t catch fire.”...

76. Fake

“Uh...” Aloe didn’t know what to make out of the leaf. “Rani... She’s... not human?” Air cycled in and out of her mouth in a fast motion. Her head turned dizzy.

She was hyperventi...

75. Discovery

Aloe felt exhausted, that was what using up twice one’s maximum vitality did to a girl. But this wasn’t her first time, far from it, so instead of passing out, she was just a bit tired. Unfortu...

74. Work

The promised week quickly passed by. Whilst mentally demanding, the position of the scribe of commoners wasn’t a difficult job. Aloe’s memory was constantly being challenged as she was forced t...

73. Clearance

To say that her feather danced across the parchment would be an overstatement. Even though her dreams of ink monopoly had died as quickly as they spawned, Aloe still had some ink pots that someone ...

72. Abuse

Lulu tiptoed behind Aloe as if her movements were about to disturb the archives. It was surprising for the scribe to see this aspect of the maid. Until now, Lulu had almost been the perfect idea of...

71. Archives

A blurry deadline was the only thing that really mattered in Aloe’s future. Work had gone from tricky to menial in a matter of days. Tamara had been right when she said she wasn’t qualified for...

70. Control

For a moment, Aloe thought Tamara was joking. But she soon became aware that wasn’t the case. It makes sense. She told herself. From her understanding, I’m just a girl messing with...